High drama at Cahill's Crossing

The woman stuck amid rising tidal waters of the croc-infested East Alligator River. PHOTO: BEV TURNER

A WOMAN is lucky to be alive after her vehicle was swept off Cahill’s Crossing amid rising waters at East Alligator River.

Her car was pushed onto rocks by the force of an incoming 7.1 metre high tide shortly before noon on Friday 13 June.

In dramatic scenes, the woman was pulled from her vehicle when a tour bout arrived unexpectedly on the scene. The woman, who works in Gunbalanya but does not wish to be named, tried to make the dangerous crossing in the wake of a large truck.

Visitors on a nearby viewing platform watched helplessly as her Toyota Hilux was swept off the road and swung around by the force of the water, coming to rest precariously on rocks. According to witnesses she began blasting the horn and crying for help.

Cahill’s Crossing, between Jabiru and Gunbalanya, is a bottleneck for barrumundi, and crocs in the East Alligator River come from a kilometre around to feed there on the high tide.

Neville Namarnyilk, at the helm of the Kakadu Cultural Tours boat Guluyambi, came to the rescue of the woman, with passengers dragging her to safety through the window of her car. He said she was very lucky.

“We were running late and I was about to turn my boat to go upstream from the ramp, but there was a big bird came from nowhere,” Mr Namarnyilk said.

“I wanted to go and look at the bird, a white bellied sea eagle, and as we got closer we saw people waving from the crossing, trying to tell us something.”

Mr Namarnyilk said he was drawn to turn downstream to the crossing by the bird, which he believes to be a marrawudi or spirit animal.

“That bird is a duwa, a totem animal of the same moeity as that old man, our traditional leader, who recently passed away,” Mr Namarnyilk said.

Passengers on the boat, including Bev and Larry Turner from Kangaroo Island, said when they first saw the vehicle stuck on the rocks they did not expect to see anyone in it.

“We were all taking photos and thinking it was funny when all of a sudden we realised that poor girl was still in there,” Bev said.

“It all happened so quickly. Neville did a really good job of keeping the boat steady in the current, and Larry grabbed her out of the boat. We were all a bit shocked.”

Mr Namarnyilk ran the Guluyambi right up to the window of the stranded Hilux.

“She could have drowned,” he said. “If she’d had electric windows, the salt water could have killed the electrics, making it harder to get her out.

“I realised the window was down, and the water was halfway up the door, and still rising.

“I took the nose of the boat hard against the front door.

“A few of my customers jumped up, one guy held the truck against the boat, the other guy took her bag and laptop and put it on the boat, then they both pulled her out.

“When she got on the boat she was in a state of shock,” Mr Namarnyilk said.

West Arnhem Regional Council Mayor Lothar Siebert said people who were unfamiliar with the crossing should not attempt it on a high tide.

“We have a lot of people here who use that crossing regularly,” Mayor Siebert said. “People see the locals doing it and they think they can do it. But it is a difficult crossing to learn. If the water is above 600mm, stay away from it, especially if there is strong movement in the water.

“Just sit and wait until the water level drops.”

Passenger on the Guluyambi Larry Turner helps the woman out of her Hilux, stranded at Cahill's Crossing. PHOTO: BEV TURNER

Neville Namarnyilk at the helm of the Guluyambi.